What Happened in January 1970

Historical Events

  • Jan 1 "The Epoch" (Time 0 for UNIX systems, Midnight GMT)
  • Jan 1 36th Orange Bowl: #2 Penn State beats #6 Missouri, 10-3
  • Jan 1 36th Sugar Bowl: #13 Mississippi beats #3 Arkansas, 27-22
  • Jan 1 56th Rose Bowl: #5 Southern California beats #7 Michigan, 10-3
  • Jan 1 Afro-American Historical Calendar Series Established
  • Jan 1 Charles "Chub" Feeney becomes president of baseball's National League
  • Jan 1 Revised calendar for Western (RC) Church goes into effect
  • Jan 1 The Netherland Christian Workers Union (NCW) forms
  • Jan 1 The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), an infantry regiment of the British Army, comes into existence
  • Jan 1 The University College of Zululand, formerly affiliated to the University of South Africa, attains full academic autonomy as the University of Zululand.
  • Jan 1 US Federal oil depletion allowance reduced from 27.5 to 22.0 percent
  • Jan 2 Dutch premiere of Galt MacDermot, Gerome Ragni and James Rado's hippie musical "Hair" in Amsterdam
  • Jan 2 US population is 293,200,000; African American population: 22,600,000 (11.1%)
  • Jan 3 Bill Jacob and Patti Jacob's musical "Jimmy", starring Frank Gorshin and Anita Gillette, loosely based on the life of NYC mayor Jimmy Walker (1926-32). closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 84 performances
  • Jan 3 Jerry Herman's musical "Mame" closes at The Broadway Theater, NYC, after 1508 performances and 3 Tony Awards
  • Jan 3 Marxist government takes over in Congo
  • Jan 3 WHAG TV channel 25 in Hagerstown, MD (NBC) begins broadcasting

Chiefs Defeat Raiders

Jan 4 AFL Championship, Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland: Kansas City Chiefs beat Oakland Raiders, 17-7; Chiefs defense forces 4 interceptions

"I Me Mine"

Jan 4 Beatles last recording session at Abbey Road studios, completing George Harrison's tune "I Me Mine"; John Lennon was on vacation and did not participate

  • Jan 4 More than 15,000 people are killed in Tonghai County, China after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake
  • Jan 4 NFL Championship, Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington: Minnesota Vikings beat Cleveland Browns, 27-7
  • Jan 4 NYC transit fare rises from 20 cents to 30 cents, new larger tokens used

"The Twentieth Century"

Jan 4 Weekly CBS documentary show "The Twentieth Century" hosted by Walter Cronkite ends

  • Jan 5 23,000 Belgian mine workers strike
  • Jan 5 American daytime soap opera "All My Children" premieres on ABC

Lennon, Yoko in Denmark

Jan 5 John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono give a press conference in Aalborg, Denmark, revealing that they were only visiting

  • Jan 5 KPTS TV channel 8 in Hutchinson-Wichita, Kansas (PBS) begins broadcasting
  • Jan 6 Australian boxer Johnny Famechon retains his WBC featherweight title with a 14th-round knockout of Fighting Harada in Tokyo; re-match of questionable 15-round decision in 1969 in his first title defense

Woodstock Music and Art Fair

Jan 7 Farmers sue Max Yasgur for $35,000 in damages caused by "Woodstock Festival"

  • Jan 9 Constitution of Singapore enacted
  • Jan 10 Preview Center opens at Walt Disney World, Florida - first building to open
  • Jan 11 Irish republican political party Sinn Féin party splits between those in favor of abstentionism (of not taking any seats won in the parliaments) and those where against
  • Jan 11 Super Bowl IV, Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, LA: KC Chiefs beat Minnesota Vikings, 23-7; MVP: Len Dawson, Kansas City, QB
  • Jan 13 Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu flees Biafra into exile, leaving his deputy Philip Effiong to surrender to the Nigerian army, unofficially ending the Nigerian Civil War
  • Jan 13 Riots begin in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast
  • Jan 14 Royal Ulster Constabulary officers patrol the Falls Road area of Belfast for the first time since 1969

Gaddafi Head of State

Jan 15 Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed Chairman of Libyan Revolutionary Command Council - de facto head of state

  • Jan 15 Nigerian civil war officially ends after 2 1/2 years of fighting when the Republic of Biafra disbands and joins Nigeria
  • Jan 15 Riots break out in the Ardoyne area of Belfast
  • Jan 16 4 months after leading a coup against monarchy, Muammar Gaddafi takes over rule of Libya
  • Jan 16 AAU player Steve Myers makes a basketball field goal of 92'3½" from out of bounds, Tacoma-it shouldn't have counted, but was allowed
  • Jan 16 Buckminster Fuller receives the Gold Medal award from the American Institute of Architects

Flood Files Lawsuit

Jan 16 Curt Flood files a civil lawsuit challenging baseball's reserve clause [1]

  • Jan 16 Inaugural Buffalo Sabres owners Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup Knox hire former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager and head coach Punch Imlach in the same capacities for their new NHL franchise
  • Jan 16 NFL realigns into 3 divisions (down from 4)
  • Jan 17 357 baseball players are available in the free-agent draft
  • Jan 17 9th AFL All Star Game, Astrodome, Houston: Western Division beats Eastern Division, 26-3; MVP: John Hadl, LA Chargers, QB
  • Jan 17 John M Burgess installed as bishop of Protestant Episcopals (Mass)

Mays Player of the Decade

Jan 17 Sporting News names Willie Mays as Player of the Decade for the 1960s

20th NFL Pro Bowl

Jan 18 20th NFL Pro Bowl, LA Memorial Coliseum: West beats East, 16-13; MVPs: Gale Sayers, Chicago Bears, HB; George Andrie, Dallas Cowboys, DE

  • Jan 18 Hasse Borjes skates world record 500m in 38.9 sec
  • Jan 19 Eight Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands say there should be room in the church for both married priests and celibate priests

Nixon Nominates Carswell

Jan 19 US President Richard Nixon nominates G. Harold Carswell to Supreme Court, approval rejected by US Senate

20th NBA All-Star Game

Jan 20 20th NBA All-Star Game, Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pa: East beats West, 142-135; MVP: Willis Reed, NY Knicks, C; Tom and Dick Van Arsdale, first brothers to play in same NBA All-Star Game

23rd NHL All-Star Game

Jan 20 23rd NHL All-Star Game, St. Louis Arena: East beats West, 4-1; MVP: Bobby Hull, Chicago, LW

  • Jan 20 Super Fight, computer mock championship between Ali & Marciano; Marciano won.
  • Jan 22 1st commercial Boeing 747 flight, Pan American World Airways flies from New York City to London in 6½ hours
  • Jan 22 Test debut of Barry Richards, South Africa v Australia, Cape Town
  • Jan 23 Australia's 1st amateur radio satellite (Oscar 5) launched (California)
  • Jan 23 Member of Dutch feminist group Dolle Mina burn their bras in Amsterdam
  • Jan 23 US launches 2nd generation weather satellite, ITOS 1
  • Jan 23 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • Jan 24 3rd ABA All-Star Game: West 128 beats East 98 at Indiana
  • Jan 24 Valeri Muratov skates world record 500m (38.99 sec)

M*A*S*H

Jan 25 Dark comedy film "M*A*S*H", directed by Robert Altman, starring Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould, and based on novel by Richard Hooker, premieres (Palme d'Or 1970)

  • Jan 26 "Bridge over Troubled Water" 5th and final studio album by Simon & Garfunkel is released (Grammy Award Album of the Year, Best Engineered Non-Classical Album 1971)
  • Jan 26 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Margaret Court beats fellow Australian Kerry Melville Reid 6-1, 6-3; Court retains title for 9th Australian singles crown and 1st leg of her Grand Slam
  • Jan 26 Pendleton, Ford & Cryer's "Last Sweet Days of Isaac," premieres in NYC

Ashe Beats Crealy

Jan 27 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Arthur Ashe beats big serving local Dick Crealy 6-4, 9-7, 6-2

  • Jan 27 Movie rating system modifies "M" rating to "PG"
  • Jan 27 NFL Draft: Louisiana Tech quarterback Terry Bradshaw #1 pick by Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Jan 28 Lubomír Strougal succeeds Cernik as premier of Czechoslovakia
  • Jan 29 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
  • Jan 31 Grateful Dead members and entourage busted, down on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana on LSD charges [1]
1970 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Jan 1 Gabriel Jarret, American actor
  • Jan 2 Anthony Stuart, Australian cricket fast bowler and coach (3 ODIs; 8 wickets @ 13.62; hat trick 1997), born in Newcastle, Australia
  • Jan 2 Eric Whitacre, American Grammy Award-winning choral conductor and composer (Lux Aurumque; Deep Field), born in Reno, Nevada
  • Jan 2 Glenn Cadrez, American NFL linebacker (Super Bowl 1997, 98; Denver Broncos), born in El Centro, California
  • Jan 2 Robert Fertitta, American operatic countertenor, born in New York City
  • Jan 2 Royce Clayton, American baseball shortstop (MLB All Star 1997; SF Giants, St Louis Cardinals) and actor (The Rookie, Moneyball), born in Burbank, California
  • Jan 2 Sanda Ladoşi, Romanian pop singer ("I Admit"), born in Târgu Mureș, Transylvania, Romania.
  • Jan 3 Christian Duguay, American comic actor
  • Jan 3 Mahaya Petrosian, Iranian actress
  • Jan 3 Matt Ross, American actor
  • Jan 4 Chris Kanyon, American pro wrestler (WCW/WWF World Tag Team C'ship), born in Sunnyside, New York City (d. 2010)
  • Jan 4 Colin Scrivener, Canadian CFL defensive tackle (Winnipeg Blue Bombers), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba
  • Jan 4 Sean Lumpkin, American NFL safety (New Orleans Saints), born in Golden Valley, Minnesota
  • Jan 5 James Patton, American NFL defensive end (Buffalo Bills), born in Brazoria County, Texas
  • Jan 5 Jeffrey Jey [Gianfranco Randone], Italian pop and dance singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist (Eiffel 65), born in Lentini, Italy
  • Jan 5 Rick Campanelli, Canadian TV presenter, born in Hamilton, Canada
  • Jan 5 Troy Van Leeuwen, American guitarist (Queens of the Stone Age; Gone Is Gone), born in Los Angeles, California
  • Jan 6 Daniel Naulty, American pitcher (Minnesota Twins), born in Los Angeles, California
  • Jan 6 Gabrielle Reece, American volleyball player and actress (Extremists), born in La Jolla, California
  • Jan 6 Geert Brusselers, Dutch football player and coach (NAC), born in Eindhoven, Netherlands
  • Jan 6 John Gerak, NFL tight end/guide (Minnesota Vikings, St Louis Rams), born in Youngstown, Ohio
  • Jan 6 Julie Chen, American television presenter, born in New York City
  • Jan 6 Keenan McCardell, NFL wide receiver (Cleveland Browns, Jaguars), born in Houston, Texas
  • Jan 6 Kerrin Petty, Swedish-American cross country skier (Olympics 1994), born in Townshend, Vermont
  • Jan 7 Doug E. Doug [Douglas Bourne], American actor and comedian (Cosby, Operation Dumbo Drop, Jungle Fever), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Jan 7 João Ricardo, Angolan soccer goalkeeper (29 caps; Académico Viseu FC, Moreirense FC), born in Luanda, Angola
  • Jan 7 Paul McCallum, Canadian football punter and placekicker (Claymores, Sask Roughriders), born in Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Jan 8 Darryl Williams, American NFL safety (Seattle Seahawks, Cin Bengals), born in Miami, Florida
  • Jan 8 Jon Klemm, Canadian NHL defenseman (Colorado Avalanche), born in Calgary, Alberta
  • Jan 9 Alex Staropoli, Italian keyboardist (Rhapsody Of Fire), born in Trieste, Italy
  • Jan 9 Lara Fabian, Canadian-Belgian singer, born in Etterbeek, Belgium
  • Jan 10 Deon Figures, American NFL cornerback/PR (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Bellflower, California
  • Jan 10 Marcus Bagwell, American professional wrestler, born in Marietta, Georgia
  • Jan 11 Joy Nilo, Filipino pianist, conductor, and composer, chiefly of choral music, born in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines
  • Jan 12 MiG [Miguel Ayesa], Filipino-Australian rock and theatrical singer and actor (We Will Rock You), born in Manila, Philippines
  • Jan 12 Raekwon [Corey Woods], American rapper (Wu-Tang Clan), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • Jan 12 Zack de la Rocha, American rock musician (Rage Against the Machine), born in Long Beach, California
  • Jan 13 Keith Coogan, American actor (Jeffrey in The Waltons, Gun Shy), born in Palm Springs, California
  • Jan 13 Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (Tour de France 1998), born in Cesena, Italy (d. 2004)

Shonda Rhimes (54 years old)

Jan 13 American television producer and series creator (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal), born in Chicago Illinois

  • Jan 14 Eric Charron, Canadian NHL defenseman (Washington Capitals), born in Verdun, Quebec
  • Jan 14 Gene Snitsky, American professional wrestler, born in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania
  • Jan 14 Steve Cooke, American baseball pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Lihue, Hawaii
  • Jan 14 Tyrone Hughes, American NFL cornerback (New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Jan 15 Michele Granger, American softball pitcher (Olympic gold 1996), born in Anaheim, California
  • Jan 16 Don MacLean, American NBA forward (NJ Nets, Denver Nuggets), born in Palo Alto, California
  • Jan 16 Garth Ennis, Irish comic book author, born in Holywood, United Kingdom
  • Jan 16 Ron Villone, American pitcher (San Diego Padres), born in Englewood, New Jersey
  • Jan 17 Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-born animator, born in Moscow, Russia
  • Jan 17 James Wattana, Thai snooker player, born in Bangkok, Thailand
  • Jan 17 Jeremy Roenick, American NHL center (Team USA, Blackhawks, Coyotes), born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • Jan 18 DJ Quik [David Marvin Blake], American rapper (Quik Is the Name), born in Compton, California
  • Jan 18 Leo Araguz, American football punter (Oakland Raiders, Rhein Fire), born in Pharr, Texas
  • Jan 18 Peter van Petegem, Belgian cyclist, born in Brakel, Belgium
  • Jan 19 Ghetty Chasun, American actress (Red Lips), born in Erie, Pennsylvania
  • Jan 19 Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete, born in Beveren, Belgium
  • Jan 19 Rick Krivda, American baseball pitcher (Baltimore Orioles), born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania
  • Jan 19 T. J. Mathews, American baseball pitcher (St Louis Cardinals), born in Columbia, Illinois
  • Jan 19 Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian, born in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan
  • Jan 20 Marvin Benard, American baseball outfielder (SF Giants), born in Bluefields, Nicaragua
  • Jan 20 Mitch Benn, English comedian and musician, born in Liverpool, England
  • Jan 20 Skeet Ulrich, American actor (Scream), born in Lynchburg, Virginia
  • Jan 21 Ian Salisbury, cricketer (Sussex & England leg-spinner 1992-96)
  • Jan 21 Ken Leung, American actor (Lost; Shanghai Kiss; The Night Shift), born in New York City
  • Jan 22 Abraham Olano, Spanish cyclist, born in Anoeta, Spain
  • Jan 22 Alex Ross, American comic book painter (Marvels, Kingdom Come), born in Portland, Oregon
  • Jan 22 Brian Gaskill, American actor (David Michaels-Models Inc, Bob-All My Children), born in Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Jan 23 Alan Embree, American baseball pitcher (Cleveland Indians), born in The Dalles, Oregon
  • Jan 23 Jim Schwantz, American football player and politician (Dallas Cowboys, SF 49ers), born in Arlington Heights, Illinois
  • Jan 23 Mark Wohlers, American baseball pitcher (Atlanta Braves), born in Holyoke, Massachusetts
  • Jan 23 Richard Šmehlik, Czech NHL defenseman (Buf Sabres, Olympic gold 1998), born in Ostrava, Czech Republic
  • Jan 23 Sherman Obando, Panamanian baseball outfielder (Montreal Expos), born in Bocas del Toro Province, Panama
  • Jan 24 Matthew Lillard, American actor (Scream), born in Lansing, Michigan
  • Jan 25 Milt Stegall, Canadian Football HOF wide receiver (9 × CFL All-Star; CFL Most Outstanding Player Award 2002; Winnipeg Blue Bombers), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Jan 26 Kirk Franklin, American gospel singer, choir director, and 16 time Grammy Award-winner, born in Fort Worth, Texas
  • Jan 27 Carlos Xavier Bernardo Sixto Marie, Dutch prince and Duke of Parma and Piacenza, born in Nijmegen, Netherlands
  • Jan 27 Dario Brose, US soccer halfback (Olympic-92), born in Queens, New York
  • Jan 27 Dean Headley, English cricket fast bowler (15 Tests, 60 wickets; Middlesex CCC, Kent CCC; first Test cricketer to be son & grandson of Test cricketers: Ron & George Headley), born in Norton, England
  • Jan 27 Emmanuel Pahud, French-Swiss flautist, born in Geneva, Switzerland
  • Jan 27 Mark Trojanowski, American rock drummer (Sister Hazel), born in the USA
  • Jan 28 Donald Tardy, American death metal drummer (Obituary, Cause of Death), born in Florida
  • Jan 28 Mr. Prospector, American thoroughbred racehorse and breeding stallion (most influential sire of his generation), born in Spendthrift Farm, Kentucky (d. 1999)
  • Jan 28 Rob Clayton, American alternative rock drummer (The Jody Grind), born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1992)
  • Jan 29 Heather Graham, American actress (Drugstore Cowboy, Diggstown), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Jan 29 Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer (World C'ship gold 400m, 1500m 1991; Olympic bronze 1500 1992), born in Schwedt an der Oder, Germany
  • Jan 29 Paul Ryan, American politician (R-Wisconsin) & Speaker of the House (2015-2018), born in Janesville, Wisconsin
  • Jan 31 (Amelia) "Minnie" Driver, British-American actress (Good Will Hunting; The Riches), and singer-songwriter (Everything I've Got in My Pocket), born in London, England
  • Jan 31 Greg Skrepenak, American football offensive lineman (Oakland Raiders, Carolina Panthers), born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
  • Jan 31 Travis Hannah, American football wide receiver (Houston Oilers, Frankfurt Galaxy), born in Los Angeles, California
Born in 1970

Famous Deaths

  • Jan 2 Piotr Rytel, Polish composer, dies at 85
  • Jan 3 Gladys Aylward, British missionary in China; portrayed by Ingrid Bergman in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (b. 1902)
  • Jan 4 Jean-Étienne Valluy, French general (Director of Colonial Forces in Indochina), dies at 70
  • Jan 5 Cyril Fagan, Irish astrologer and author, dies at 73
  • Jan 5 Max Born, German physicist (quantum mechanics, Nobel 1954), dies at 87
  • Jan 5 Roberto Gerhard, Spanish Catalan composer (The Plague), dies of heart disease at 73
  • Jan 7 Robert [Harriot] Barrat, American actor (Bad Lands, Go West, Distant Drums), dies at 80
  • Jan 8 Georges Guibourg, French performer (b. 1891)
  • Jan 10 Charles Olson, American poet (The Maximus Poems), dies of liver cancer at 59
  • Jan 10 Pavel Belyayev, Soviet fighter pilot and cosmonaut (Voskhod II), dies at 44
  • Jan 12 Blanche Stuart Scott, US pilot, dies at 84
  • Jan 14 John J "Johnny" Murphy, American baseball pitcher (NY Yankees), dies at 61
  • Jan 14 William Feller, Croatian mathematician (b. 1906)
  • Jan 15 Vytautas Bacevičius [Bacewicz], Lithuanian avant garde composer (Della Guerra Symphony), dies at 64
  • Jan 16 Armijn Pane, Indonesian writer (Djinak-djinak merpati), dies at 61
  • Jan 17 Billy Stewart, American singer ("I Do Love You"), dies in auto-accident at 32
  • Jan 17 Robert Lindley Murray, American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1917-18), dies at 77
  • Jan 17 Simon Kovar, Russian-American bassoonist (b. 1890)
  • Jan 18 David O. McKay, 9th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, dies at 96
  • Jan 19 Hal March [Harold Mendelson], American comedian, actor and TV host ($64,000 Question; Outrage), dies of lung cancer at 49
  • Jan 24 Caresse Crosby, American poet (b. 1891)
  • Jan 24 James "Shep" Shepherd, American R&B singer-songwriter (The Heartbeats - "One Thousand Miles"; Shep & Limelites - "Daddy's Home"), beaten to death in a robbery at 34
  • Jan 25 Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese television writer and producer (Ultraman) (b. 1901)
  • Jan 25 Eunice Hunton Carter, 1st African American female district attorney (NY), dies at 70
  • Jan 25 Jane Bathori, French mezzo-soprano, dies at 92
  • Jan 27 Probir Sen, Indian cricket wicketkeeper (14 Tests, 31 dismissals; Bengal), dies at 43
  • Jan 27 Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (b. 1908)
  • Jan 28 Tommy Andrews, Australian cricketer (16 Tests 1921-26, 592 runs), dies
  • Jan 29 B. H. Liddell Hart, English military historian and publicist (The Rommel Papers), dies at 74
  • Jan 30 Malcolm Keen, British actor (The Lodger, The Manxman, The Murder Party), dies at 82
  • Jan 31 Slim Harpo [James Moore], American blues musician (I'm a King Bee, Baby Scratch My Back), dies of a heart attack at 46